Man gets life in prison in murder of woman found dead at end of driveway

SPOTSYLVANIA, VA (WWBT) - The second man charged in the 2015 death of a woman found dead in a car in Spotsylvania will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Jonathan J. Verjarano was found guilty earlier this year of first-degree murder, conspiring to commit murder and a gun charge in the death of Heather Ciccone, who was found dead inside a car in December 2015 with severe trauma to her upper body.

Two people - Joshua C. Williams and Verjarano - were arrested in 2017 in the case.

Williams was found guilty in December 2017 and received a 38-year sentence. Verjarano was sentenced this week.

The sheriff’s office says detectives worked with several jurisdictions for months to bring the case involving Ciccone’s death before a grand jury.

Ciccone, 21, was found dead in a vehicle parked at the end of a driveway on Dec. 6, 2015, in the 10300 block of Piney Branch Road.

She was discovered when Bonnie Shiflett, who lives there, looked outside her bedroom window and saw headlights shining up her driveway. She recalled it being around 11 in the evening, and the lights pierced the otherwise dark neighborhood.

Her husband, a retired emergency responder, didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a flashlight, jumped into his truck, and drove down to the road to investigate.

“There was a car here. It sounded like the engine was revving a little bit. He got to the car, shined his flashlight inside, her foot was still on the gas pedal,” recalled Shiflett. Her husband knew it was too late to save the young woman.

Investigators say Ciccone had severe trauma to the upper body. Shiflett's husband stayed with them as they worked throughout the night, pulling evidence.

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